FANTASY BASEBALL

{"playerId":4072,"percentChange":-1.4,"averageDraftPosition":226.9,"percentOwned":59.1,"playerRaterSEASON":6.2,"mostRecentNews":{"news":"Astros manager A.J. Hinch said Sunday that he would like to build Peacock up to at least the 45-to-50-pitch range by Opening Day, Jake Kaplan of The Athletic Houston reports.","spin":"With all five spots in the Houston rotation spoken for and Collin McHugh likely first in line to fill in should an opening arise, Peacock has spent the spring preparing for a high-leverage, multi-inning role out of the bullpen. The right-hander has recorded six outs in each of his three spring appearances to date, giving up one run and strikeout six batters across six frames. Though Peacock's path to the rotation is currently blocked, having him build up to around 50 pitches would allow the Astros to easily transition him back into a starting role if injuries thin the ranks again in 2018. In the meantime, Peacock should help stabilize ratios and provide plenty of strikeouts in his extended outings from the bullpen, much like teammate Chris Devenski did last season.","date":"Sun Mar 11"},"fullName":"Brad Peacock","seasonOutlook":{"outlook":"Among pitchers with at least 100 innings last season, Peacock's 29.5 percent rate was eighth in the majors, and he was one of only four pitchers to whiff at least 160 batters without qualifying for the ERA title (Zack Godley, Rich Hill and Charlie Morton). Peacock's strength in the category, fueled primarily by his leaning substantially more on his slider (37.3 percent usage), was a boon to his fantasy managers, and will be again in 2018, whether a member of the Astros' rotation or bullpen. He'll probably shift between the two, with his main weakness being the lack of an elite \"out\" pitch against lefties, which tends to be more exposed when he's stretched out as a starter: They batted .269/.352/.462 against him in that role in 2017. Peacock is a worthwhile sixth or seventh pitcher on any fantasy staff, but be prepared for some shifting of his role yet again.","seasonId":2018,"date":"Tue Feb 20"},"positionRank":16}

Astros starter Dallas Keuchel agreed to a $13.2 million, one-year contract after helping lead Houston to its first World Series title, and designated hitter/catcher Evan Gattis got a $6.7 million deal.

The deciding game of the World Series between the Astros and Dodgers will pit Lance McCullers Jr. and Yu Darvish on the mound, but the teams will be ready to call on respective aces Dallas Keuchel and Clayton Kershaw from the bullpen.